Diamond drill



Oct. 5, 1943. H. o. FOSSUM DIAMOND DRILL Filed A ril 21, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HENRY O FossuM.

BY W WTRNEY Oct. 5, 1943. H. o. FossuM DIAMOND DRILL Filed April 21, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 TF N. W0 M m HY W ATTORNEY Oct. 5, 1943. H. o. FossuM 2,331,179

DIAMOND DRILL Filed April 21, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 'iHiI" INVENTOR HEM? Y 0 F055 UM BY Wm ATTORNEY M-Il H. O. FOSSUM DIAMOND DRILL Filed April 21, 1942 Oct. 5, 1943.

5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR fiwkr 0. Fassu/vn ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 5, YIIZI Y mo. Pneumatic Tool This invention relates to mining drills and more particularly to diamond drillsadapted for prospecting or 'for blast-hole drilling in the drifts and stopes of mines. I

Diamond core drillsbperate on "the rotary principle and borea hole inthe earth with a 7 diamond studded'hollow bitsecured to. one end of a sectional drill'rodr, This'method otdrilling produces cores of .cut material',useful assamples of the earths formation. IIn this andother respects a diamondidrillis distinguished fromthe conventional rock drill which operates by driving a solid pointed bit-through the worlr by delivering to it repeated percussiveimpulses; 3L:

The essential elements 'ofsthe diamond .drill are a feed screw through which the d'rill'rr'ni is[ passed, a chuck connecting thefeedr'screw to v tjengaged with thereed; screw; byja threaded,connectionoirerative to l I advance'andretract the feed 'sjcrew' upon relaw v tive rotary movementbetweenthe elements, A

establishingjposltive the rod, and 1,a feed 11 motor and a countershaft v Fig, 2, showing the drillin working driving connections between the motor and I feed screw and structure of thedrill.

ally to reorganize the construction or} the "light diamond drill to obtain a tool which ls lighter in weight yet more powerful-than its predecessors and which may be controlled and: operated more tershaft parallel to one another where'they" may be connected! complementary spur gears and enclosed by a; dust proof,- 'oiltight tubular housing. According to v this construction the drive feed nut complete the operating I .1- I The object oftheypresenitinvention is genertaken substantiallyalonglthe' line' b-li otlFigi 4';

7 taken along the irregularlinefSa-ia of 1 'ig, 6; 1

of the feed: screw -andi"feednut is effected through the countershaft; Heretofore the mo- Y tor has 'beendisposed'at right angles to the countershait and the feed screw and connected thereto by bevel gears leading directly to the feed screw. The prior assembly thus. didv not lend itself to easy manipulation, required the use or expensive, gearing, and, because itsdrill mount necessarily was dispesed some distance from the feedscrew, the reaction of the drilling pressure tended to rock the tool out ofalignment with thedrill'hole. 1

It further is contemplated that by this inven--- be madein the drilling ap-" pa'ratus for mechanical means' to .pull'the drill I The rodpilller is designed to, attached to the; drill mount side j by side withthe ill, andvthe two elements ar-i;

tion provision shall rod into and out oi the hole.

I Company, New York, N.;Y., acom ationot New Jersey I Application April z1,194z, sei -iarNb.4saas5 s Claims. 101. 255-47) I a .rangedto be rocked into andout of alignment ably, the drill motor and the rod puller both. are voperated by compressed air.

Y vention will be apparent from the following deratus,. showing" the drill 'rocked outio .positionand showing a guide arm '1 nection of the motor 'sha Itto-the countershalty Q'- taken substantially along the line 'l-el of Fig; .4; f

taken substantially along 'the linej 9+9 oi-Fig. 8. v

iaries the drill'is most the drill rod and operated to move the rod into puller and the drill mount is shown supported on Y 1 ,a stationary bar ll',"the several ele'ments being g indicated respectively 'a'tlfll, l3 and; The

mount l4 'provi with the drill hole for alternative use. Preter- Another feature of the inventionlislan iminitiate changes in the speed ratio between the Other objects and structural details of the lnscription when read in conjunction with the ac- .7 companying.di'awings, wherein: I

.Fig. Us a plan view of. the drilling apparatus including the rod puller, mounted on a station" ary'cross'b'ar; 1 Y

Fig. 2 is a rear end 'viewoi the puller engaged'with therod Fig. 3, isa, iragm'entaryllendj- Fig." 4 is a side view. oflongitudinal section;

v Fig. 5; is a top plan e J "chili- 'viewiofi'theldrill partor.

thehousing being broken Y away. to show the; con

Figrfi is a :viewjofthe-drillgincross'section; I Fig. 6a is a'detail viewoiitheiindexingsleeve. it Q Y Fig. 7 is a view'of the drill' glncrossflsection,

Fig. 8 is a detailview, in longitudinal section; I ofthe rotary air motorembodied in the drill;

Fig. 9 is a view" pith 8 motor; crciss section,

Although operable independently o'i'any auX il. r

I effectively used in con- L I junctionwith the pressure. fluid operated puller I which may be coupled to and uncoupled from I;

and out of the drill hole, thereby relieving the I operator of the manual effort of such work. Ac- J cording to the presentinv'ention. the drill and the rod puller form anassembly and are supported on a common drill mount for pivotal movement relative to the mount intoffandoutoialigi ment I with the dri1l hole, Referring to.l7igs.i1', 2 and v Y 3,. the assembly comprising 'the fdri'll,"flthe* rod des a b seman is iorlthe Y drill l2 and a conical projection l9 adapted to fit within a saddle l'l clamped to the bar ll. Although held against movement out of the,

I saddle I! the conical projection I6 is rotatable therein so that the drill mount may be turned to any position of rotation relative to the stationary bar ll. Thus, in its mounting, the drill resembles a rock drill of the well known drifter type. Like the drifter, it is well suited for use in confined areas, such as mine shafts, where ease of control and wide range of movement are hinge is an eye-bolt 22 pivotally mounted on a pin 23 carried by lugs 24 on th plate I 9 on the side opposite hinge bolt 2|. The upper end of the bolt 22 is, in the working position of the drill (Figs. 1, 3 and received in a slotted projection 25 on the drill housing, and has a nut 29 which may be turned into locking engagement with the projection. When it is desired to move the drill out of working position the nut 29 is loosened and the eye-bolt 22 is swung out of the slotted projection 25. The drill thereby is released for movement to the position shown in Fig. 2 where it may rest on the bar Ii while the puller I9 is operated to advance or retract the drill rod.

The rod puller I 3 is arranged parallel to the drill l2 and is supported by a bracket 21 extending laterally from plate IS. The puller comprises an elongated cylinder 29, a piston 29 in the cylinder and a piston rod 9! extending forwardly through the front end of the cylinder. Outside the cylinder the piston rod 3| supports an arm 92 adapted to be rocked into cooperative relation with the drill rod and engaged therewith through gripping elements 33 and 34. The latter is a cam dog oscillated to effective and ineffective positions as the piston rod-reciprocates. A guide arm 35 is mounted on the front of cylinder 29 and also may be swung into and out of cooperative relation with the drill rod. Reciprocation of the piston 29 and of the gripping arm 32 movable therewith is effected by pressure fluid admitted to opposite ends of the cylinder 28 through a pipe 99 under the control of a four-way valve 31.

Considering now the construction and mode of operation of the drill l2 it will be seen that the mechanism of the drill is enclosed by a housing made up of tubular sections 39, 99 and 4|, joined in end to end relation by studs 42. The opposite ends of the housing assembly are closed by plates 43 and 44. The rear housing section 39 contains a compressed air operated rotary motor suppliedwith fluid through a hose connection 45 (Fig. 1), a branch 48 of which leads to the rod puller l3. As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the rotary motor is representative of a class of motors long used in pneumatic tools because of their high torque capabilities and sensitive response to throttle regulation. The elements of the motor include a ported cylinder 41, end plates 49 and 49 therefor, and an eccentrically positioned rotor 5| supp rted between the end plates for relative rotarymovement. The crescent shaped chamber so defined in the cylinder 41 is partitioned by radial vanes 52 carried by the rotor 5i and urged outward into contact with the wall of the cylinder during operation of the motor. The partitioned areas within the cylinder, formed by the vanes 52, are connected successively to the source of live air and to exhaust as the rotor turns. The air entering housing section 99 through connection 45 is directed from an air inlet Ill through ports and passages leading to an arcuate chamber 92 surrounding one side of the cylinder 41 and communicating with the interior of the cylinder through a set of ports 54. On the opposite side of the cylinder is a chamber 59 open to exhaust and communicating with the interior of the cylinder through ports 59. The supply of air to the motor is controlled by an inlet valve (not shown) adjustable by a hand operated knob 51 (Fig. 1) to increase and reduce the rate of flow of the fluid to live air chamber 53 and thereby vary the speed of the motor. To limit the free speed of the motor, a governor apparatu is provided comprising a governor valve 58, a plunger 59 supported at one end of the rotor ii outside the plate 49 and operable by centrifugal weights 90, and an intermediate lever 9| pivotally mounted on an internal abutment 92 of the closure plate 43. In response to an increased speed of operation of the rotor, approaching a predetermined maximum, the weights 99 rock outward pressing the plunger 59 against the lever 9| which is caused to turn in a clockwise direction (Fig. 8) and depress the valve 99. The governor valve reciprocates within a bushing 99 and controls the passage of air througha set of ports 94 therein, which ports establish communication between the air inlet and the chamber 59.

The rotor ii is mounted in bearings and 65 in the end plates 49 and 49, and, outside the plate 49, has a splined connection with a driving gear 61. This construction, it will be noted, is 8. de

parture from conventional practices in that the driving gear, being separate from the rotor, may be independently replaced when worn. Heretofore the driving gear has been formed integrally with the rotor and could be renewed only by installing a complete new unit consisting of the rotor and gear. The driving gear 61 is encircled by the intermediate housing section 39 and is meshed with a spur gear 99 (see Fig. 4) secured 45 to one end of a countershaft 69. The shaft 99 parallels the rotor 5| of the motor and is supported in bearings H, 12 and 13 located respectively in the upper portions of housing sections 29 and 4| and closure plate 44. Adjacent it opposite or front end the countershaft has a gear wheel 14 secured thereto, this gear being engaged with an annular toothed flange I5 01 a sleeve 19 spaced from and parallel to the countershait. At its extremities the sleeve 19 is mounted in bearing I1 and I9 stationed between the lower internal wall of housing section 4! and internal ribs 19 and 9|. The sleeve 19 surrounds an externally threaded tubular member 92 which is the feed screw. The feed screw extends through the housing sections 99 and 4| and is splined to the sleeve 76 which functions as a driving member. causing the feed screw to turn constantly with the countershaftfl during operation of the motor. The drill rod is fed section by section through the feed screw 92 and may be alternatively clutched to and released from the feed screw by a chuck mechanism 93 on the outer end of the screw. The chuck assembly 93 is disclosed and claimed in Patent No. 2,297,140 granted to this inventor September 29, 1942. Briefly considered, the chuck comprises a body portion 94 secured to the feed screw, radially movable chuck jaws 95 within the body portion, and a cupshaped housing 96 bolted to the body portion 94 and carrying set screws 91 manually adjustable to tighten and release the chuck laws with respect to the drill rod.

The rotary motion of the countershaft 69 is used also to effect an automatic advance of the feed screw 92 and a consequent axial movement of the drill rod into the work as the drilling progresses. According to the present invention, the rate of advance of the feed screw may be controlled and its speed of movement. varied within a predetermined range as changes in the earth's formation are encountered. Forming a part of the mechanism for advancing the screw 92 is a feed nut 99 surrounding the feed screw rearward of the driving sleeve 16 and in threaded engagement with the screw. The feed nut is rotatable within bearings 99 and 9| and carries on its ,outer periphery four gear wheels 92 all keyed to the nut for rotation therewith. The set of gears 92 is in constant mesh with a set of gears 99, each of which is mounted on the countershaft 69 for rotation independently of the shaft and of each other. bearings II and 12 and are held against longitudinal displacement by washers 94'and 96 on the opposite ends 'of the assembly. The several elements 99 differ in the number of teeth which they bear so that each is adapted to driveits respective gear 92 at a different speed. The gears 99 are selectively connected to thecoum tershaft 69 by means of a pin or key 96 (see also The gears 99 lie between the notches 9 on the sleeve and riding into and out of engagement with successive notches as the sleeve is moved. The plunger I99 and cooperating notches II9 serve also as detent means, acting yieldingly to hold the key 96 in registry with a gear 99. The pinion III is fast on the lower end of a stub' shaft II9 extending upward out of the housing ll and having a hand lever Ill secured to its outer end. By turning the stub shaft II9 about its axis the sleeve I99 and thereby the key 96 may be set to a selected position of adjustment. To aid in such positioning numerals may be inscribed on the housing around stub shaft II9 (see Fig. 5), which numerals, in cooperation with the lever Ill, may be used to indicate the presence of the key 96 in a predetermined index position. When neutrally positioned, as in Fig. 4, the key 96 lies between a pair of gears 99 and is ineffective. Accordingly, the countershaft 99 rotates independently of the feed nut transmission gears, and the nut is merely carried by the screw 82 without any relative movement between the elements taking place, However, when the key 96 is moved out of neutral position, and brought to rest in a keyway I92 of a gear-99,.a positive; drive is effected from the shaft69 through the selected gear 93 and its associated gear 92 .and

: thereby to the-feed nut 99. The several" trans Fig. 7) extending transversely through a slotted portion 91' of the shaft and'movable longitudinally within such portion. The key 96 is carried by a rod 99 disposed in a longitudinal bore 99 within the countershaft. A spring pressed detent IN is positioned in the rearward end of mission gears between the shaft 69 and the feednut 99 are, in each instance, adapted to'impartto the feed nut a speed greater than" that atwhich the-feed screw 82 is turned by the gear I6. "Because of its higher speed vthe feed nut the rod 99 and engages the key- 96 at its mid-- portion to prevent lateral movement thereof. The opposite ends of the key 96 project from opposite sides of the shaft 69 and are arranged to enter either of a pair of keyways I92 (Fig. '7) formed in the inner periphery of each ,of the gears 93.

The rod 99 is shiftable longitudinally within the bore 99 by an indexing apparatus'operative to engagethe key 96 with one or another of the gears 99 or to place the key in a' neutral posi- 1 tion out of engagement with any of the gears. Near its forward end the rod 99 carries a second 1 transverse pin I 99 movable within a longitudi-v nal slot I96 in the shaft 69. Outside the shaft 69 the opposite ends of the pin I99 are engaged in openings in a collar I99 surmounting the shaft. The collar I96 is in turn surrounded by a sleeve I96 reciprocable within a bore definedby the internal rib 9| and the upperwall of the housing'section II. In order to lock the sleeve I96 andcollar I95 for sliding movement together rotation. to the'feed screw-in a clockwisedirec the collar is formed with a head I91 engageable with an internal flange I99 on the sleeve and held in juxtaposition to the flange by a. nut I99 threaded on to the collar on the opposite side of the flange. Thus upon movement of the sleeve I96 longitudinally along the shaft 69 therod 99 is shifted. within the bore 99 and the key 96 thereby moved into and out of the keyways I92 of the several gears 99. Actuation of the assembly comprising the sleeve I96, collar I95, rod 99 and key 96 is accomplished by a shifter pinion I I I" (see Fig. 6) disposed at right angles to the sleeve I96 and engaged with a toothed area I I2 formed as a rack on the outer surface of the.

sleeve (see Fig. 6a). The sleeve I96 is held against rotary movement by a spring pressed plunger I99 opposite a series of transverse tends Jto advance alongvthe feedscrew but is locked against longitudinal movement by an external shoulder II5' abutting one side of the twenty-four inches.- Whenthe fefed screw has reached its limit of movement the chuck 99 must I be released and the screw,,retracted.- t o starting position, relative to the drill rod,"whereupon the .ehuck is again tightened-and advance'of the feed screw again initiated. .In; fthe presentfitool; re'- "-11 turnfof thejfeed screw to'st'arting positionfisef q, 'fected automatically byholdi'ng'theffeed .nut "99} immovable .while the screw-'is positivelyidriven as-before and in the same directionof:rotation;

The result, since the countershaft is imparting tion(a's viewed from the right hand end of the tool) and since the engaging threads ofthescrew and the feed nut have a left hand winding, is

that the feed-screw will back away from the work,

moving axially'rearward toward the position of Fig. 5. The feed nut. 99 is locked agaihstrotary movement by a plunger II] radiallymovable in the wall of housing II 'andpressed outward'zby a spring II9 surrounding the stem 'of the plunger. Y

The inner end of the plunger H1 is adapted to enter one of a pluralityof recesses ,II9 (one shown) in the external shoulder II6' ofthefeed nut .99, and, when positioned ina recess, 'eflectively prevents rotationof the feed nut. In r e---I- tractin'g the feed screw, the index key. '99 is set toa neutral position and'the plunger II'Iis then, depressed and held in engagement with the feed nut until the screw has returned the desired distance.

What is claimed is:

1. A diamond core drill or like device comprising a feed screw, a feed nut, a countershaft having driving connections with said feed screw and said feed nut, reciprocable indexing apparatus controlling the driving connection between said countershaft and said feed nut to vary the speed ratio between said elements, a motor geared directly to said countershaft, and a housing completely enclosing the working parts of the drill except for said feed screw which is advanced and retracted through said housing, said housing being formed of tubular sections secured in end to end relation, the forward section receiving said countershaft and said feed screw and being formed with a bore surrounding said countershaft and within which said indexing apparatus has a sliding fit.

2. In a light, portable diamond drill having a rotatable feed screw, a rotatable feed nut engaged with said feed screw by a thread connection operative to advance and retract said screw in response to relative rotary movement between said elements, and a motor; the combination of a countershaft paralleling the axes of said motor, said feed screw and said feed nut; means establishing a continuous driving connection between said motor and said countershaft and'feed screw; selectively operable mechanisms for imparting the rotation of said countershaft to said feed nut, each of said mechanisms having a gear v wheel rotatably mounted on said shaft; selection means slidable longitudinally of said countershaft for establishing a driving connection between each of said gear wheels and said countershaft; a rack and pinion device for moving said selection means; and a dust proof tubular housing completely enclosing the operating parts of the drill including the motor except for manipulative control elements outside the housing including means for controlling the motor and for operating said rack an pinion device.

3. In a light, portab e diamond drill having a rotatable feed screw, a rotatable feed nut engaged with said feed screw by a threaded connection operative to advance and retract said screw in response to relative rotary movement between said elements, and a motor; the combination of a countershaft paralleling the axes of said motor, said feed screw and said feed nut; means establishing a continuous driving connection between said motor and said countershaft and feed screw; selectively operable mechanism for imparting the rotation of said countershaft to said feed nut; selection means for conditioning said mechanisms for operation, said selection means having a neutral position in which none of said mechanisms is efiective; means for locking said feed nut against rotation; and a. dust proof tubular housing completely enclosing the operating parts of the drill including the motor except for manipulative control elements extending outside the wall of the housing and including means for operating said selection means and means for operating said locking means.

HENRY 0. FOSSUM. 

